


(Goodbye) Precious Life

by ryukoishida



Category: Free!
Genre: Alien Invasion, Crossover, M/M, Post-Apocalypse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-03
Updated: 2015-02-03
Packaged: 2018-03-10 07:39:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,903
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3282329
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ryukoishida/pseuds/ryukoishida
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In the year 2106, the world ends in a way that no one has expected: parasitic aliens called “Souls” have invaded Earth and the species has taken over humankind since then. Rin and Sousuke are two of the very few “survivors” who have not been inserted with the parasite, until Rin is captured by the Seekers. When he awakens, he realizes that another entity now resides within his body – a Soul that he eventually names “Haruka”. Upon Rin’s insistence, they join forces and try to find their way back to Sousuke and his friends.</p>
            </blockquote>





	(Goodbye) Precious Life

**Author's Note:**

> Oops, a day late but better late than never, yeah?

“We can’t go back.”

 

‘Okay, first of all, there is no “we”. My name is Matsuoka Rin and you are a super gross parasitic alien that’s living in my body. Second, yes we can and we damn well will.’

 

“Why don’t you just accept the fact that this body is no longer yours and give up?”

 

‘You obviously don’t know me very well, do you, parasite?’ There’s a hint of smugness to his tone, if consciousness actually has the ability to be smug.

 

“Don’t call me that.” He sounds displeased and Rin is at least a little bit glad about that. Any chance to rile up this asshole who has the galls to take over his body like he owns it Rin will gladly take. “Besides, I do know you well enough; I have access to your memories, remember? Everything you’ve ever experienced in your life I can recall in less than a second.”

 

‘Yeah? The last time I check, invading someone’s privacy by reading their thoughts doesn’t necessary give you an insight to their emotions.’

 

“It’s not invading if we share the memories.”

 

‘Of course, your kind takes over planets by invading into someone else’s body. What would you understand about privacy anyway? But more importantly, I think you’re purposefully detracting me from my initial point, which is: we have to go back.’

 

“What’s the use? Do you know how to get to where they are from here? They would have presumed you dead, Rin. Given enough time, they will forget. Isn’t that better for them and for yourself in the long term?”

 

‘Shut up, you fucking parasite.’ His voice rings strongly in their minds, and the hatred laced within the tone is obvious. ‘They won’t forget about me that easily – not Gou, not Momo and Ai, and certainly not… Not…’

 

The shadow of his name is lingering somewhere in the darkness of their joint consciousness, but Rin refuses to utter the syllables that have sounded so sweet on his tongue yet now he can’t even call out to his best friend and lover in his own voice.

 

The body is still the same, and so are his vocal cords, but he’s no longer in control of it – not for the last three months now since he has awakened on a stranger’s bed and is forced to lay dormant day after day while he watches the world he once knew passes by him, viewed from his own eyes but analyzed from an alien’s perspective.

 

Rin hasn’t seen civilization – actual civilization where groups of people socialize in a large city where they are safe to walk down the street without having to look behind their backs nervously every time they hear the dreaded footsteps or calculated murmurs of the Seekers – since the parasitic aliens known to the human race as Souls have taken over planet Earth over five years ago.

 

His father died in a valiant but hopeless attempt to fight back, and his mother was forcefully taken away from him. He imagines the physical shell of his mother – her once tired but always gentle smile, kind caramel eyes, red hair streaked with premature grey – now walking around in this city, unaware of what has happened or who she has become, because in the process of inputting the Soul inside her body, her consciousness had vanished.

 

If she’s ever experienced any pain during the surgery, she’d never need to remember it or live through it again.

 

Her body lives on, and with the technology the Souls have brought with them that humans can only dream of in a sci-fi movie, she can probably live for a long while yet, but Rin will not call that woman his mother, because she doesn’t exist in this world anymore.

 

Because of the life form that has been forcibly planted into her without her consent, Matsuoka Riko’s presence – her spirit, her identity, the self she has defined with her actions and words and personality throughout her life – has been wiped out forever. As have millions of others who had suffered the same fate before her, and there will only be more victims after her.

 

But are they still considered to be “victims” if they keep on living, in some warped and twisted way, yes, but alive nevertheless?

 

Are what Rin and the other remaining human beings who are still fighting to keep their consciousness intact doing merely futile struggles for a lost cause? Can their lifestyle of hiding underground or in remote country areas be called “living”?

 

Chances are against the human race this time. Somewhere deep inside them, in nightmarish crevices they don’t like to visit but in the silence of the night, when there is nothing left to do but stare at the star-studded heaven above them where the Souls have descended upon them, and curse their luck, and think too much all at once, all of them probably know this.

 

They are fighting a life-long war that can never be won.

 

But he still has Gou, and his friends from Samezuka and Iwatobi are safely hidden, waiting for him to return; perhaps they’re even devising a plan to rescue him this very moment! That’s precisely the type of thing Momo would suggest; Ai would timidly voice out his ideas to reinforce Momo’s at-times questionable ones; Nagisa would probably back Momo up with whatever crazy notion he has come up with; Rei would make all the required calculations and blatantly inform them the five ways those said ideas will undoubtedly fail; and Makoto – sweet, gentle giant and leader of the younger generation within their small community of survivors living in the long-forgotten connections of underground subway lines beneath the abandoned university campus buildings – would make use of his soothing yet authoritative tone to calm everyone down, sit them all down around the makeshift table, and proceeds to have a productive discussion.

 

As for the onyx-haired, teal-eyed man who would usually opt to stay out of lively conferences like this – Rin can picture his lover’s displeased scowl and the anxious light in his eyes perfectly in his mind despite the arduous waves of dull ache that has somehow transcended the physical and managed to affect him even in his psychological, bodiless state – Rin knows that even if he doesn’t show it on his face, he cares, maybe more than anyone else.

 

He will never have this chance again unless he can convince this alien being to go along with his plan.

 

‘You don’t know anything, so just… Shut up.’

 

The alien is quiet for a moment, thoughtful.

 

“The red-haired girl – that’s your sister, right? And the others…” He searches for a word that he still has yet to understand. “Friends?”

 

“But this man…” A flash of Sousuke’s bright smiling eyes and the deep baritone of his laugh surface to the light for just a fleeting second; he feels Rin flinches and pities him the more.

 

Humans and their profound yet fragile relationships. Easy to forge; even easier to break.

 

“He’s not like the rest, is he?”

 

Rin is giving him one of those silent treatments, a tactic he has come to learn in the three months since residing in this human body that Rin makes use of whenever something doesn’t go his way, or when he won’t admit that he has lost another argument.

 

The human has built a temporary wall between himself and the alien consciousness, so he feels a little more at ease when he conjures up the image of Yamazaki Sousuke in his mind’s eye once more. Even though he has never met the man in person, he has seen enough memories and dreams at night, when human and Soul consciousness merges into footages too fantastical and too real all at once, to make him feel like he has known this man for most of his life. The throbbing twinge in his chest he feels when he wakes up just before dawn is always disconcerting, his surroundings frightfully strange and unfamiliar as if his body isn’t really quite his and he’s been displaced into a foreign dimension.

 

He presumes that part is true. He’s supposed to feel like that for the first week after the transition at least; that’s what the Healer has told him anyway, but everything’s _supposed_ to be fine afterwards, just like Matsuoka Rin is _supposed_ to fade away.

 

He didn’t tell anyone about Matsuoka Rin’s resolute presence in his mind. He thinks maybe the Healers would find his case interesting, because as far as he’s concerned, he’s never heard of an occasion when a human’s consciousness just refuses to leave and has managed to reside in his or her original body long after the surgery. Still, the first thought he has after realizing that the human who used to live in his current body is screaming names and throwing words of profanity at him – and he really is a very, very loud and brash human, so much so that he knows he’s wincing with every step he takes on the busy street as the man’s voice grows excessively shrill and terrified, and some people are looking at him funny, but Souls are polite enough to not dig around too much when it’s not their business – is that he doesn’t want Matsuoka Rin to disappear.

 

The energy and life exuding from his mere psyche is astounding. He’s not sure if he wants to kill this human a second time, knowing that he’s already taken so much from him just by living in his body.

 

Souls are peaceful creatures in general, as difficult to comprehend as it is from their actions, but they need ways to survive, reproduce, and carry on the lifeline of their species, too, and the only way to do so is to rely on their hosts’ bodies. Souls without the physical armour of hosts are vulnerable; exposed to almost any sort of atmosphere and they will die within a day. He has seen too much of untimely deaths when he was younger, when their kind has been less experienced and far more naïve than they are today.

 

What Rin has suggested earlier is bold, even bolder than the Soul’s decision to keep Rin’s presence a secret. But in ways he doesn’t quite understand – the pleasant warmth radiating from inside that has nothing to do with the aerial temperature at the thought of the red-haired girl with a brilliant smile, or the coiling and twisting heat that snakes along his veins and taunts at his heart, like an endless fissure that needs to be filled, a craving that longs to be satisfied, when the memory of a tall man with dark locks falling into passionate teal eyes touching him with his hands and mouth flood his mind – he can’t help but yearn to see those familiar-yet-alien faces, too.

 

This is a dangerous line he’s treading on. Keeping Rin’s existence a secret is one thing; going with the human’s irrational idea and actually running away from society in search for his friends without any sort of preparation is an entirely different matter all together.

 

Due to Rin’s apparent close association with a community of rebels – a term even he, as a respected member of the Soul civilization, is hesitant to use – security surrounding him has been outrageous. The representative of the Seeker authority, a female donning a business suit with dark brown hair tied up in a bun and a solemn line to her lips, has told him that it is all for his personal safety, since they can’t be sure if the human’s rebel companions will come and seek revenge.

 

He thinks it’s just another way to keep him guarded as bait so that they can catch the rest of the survivors if they do decide to rescue their friend.

 

But it has been three months now, and the level of security has dwindled to only a few half-hearted guards standing outside the front gates of his apartment complex. Escaping through the back entrance should not be a problem, but where would they go from there?

 

‘I see you’ve finally come around.’ There is no mistaking the haughty tone to Rin’s voice, and he wonders once again why he thinks this is even remotely a valid idea to begin with.

 

“I see you’ve finally stopped acting like a child,” he returns without true fire. He turns his gaze towards the window. Raindrops are pelting against the glass in dull, erratic taps and the city is drowned in layers of heavy, hanging clouds.

 

‘You’re too noisy,’ Rin reprimands lightly, but the alien can sense lightness to his tone that can be interpreted as relief.

 

Turning away from the city masked in cold miasma and facing his glass tablet that’s set like a desk by the window, he swipes the smooth surface to turn the machine on. Warm blue glow instantly lights up the corner of his bedroom, and search windows start to pop up, depicting maps of the Tokyo Prefecture, as well as complicated diagrams of the city’s underground subway system.

 

Information is always accessible to citizens, so locating the approximate site of the community that Rin and his friends belong to is not hard. However, in order to get even remotely close to Shizuoka Prefecture, which is southwest of where they’re currently situated, it will take more than public transit.

 

“You do know that the railway of the Tokaido Shinkansen west of Shinfuji Station has stopped running two years ago because a huge area of the prefecture has been deemed uninhabitable due to excess of hazardous chemicals in the air, right? Prolonged exposure to those toxic gases can lead to polyneuropathy.” He taps at the map to enlarge it for a closer look.

 

‘And whose fault would that be, I wonder?’ Sarcasm drips in his drawl.

 

“There was a large group of rebels in the area at the time,” he’s merely repeating what he has been told by others when he has asked about it in passing.

 

‘And I suppose letting the remaining humans who want to live in peace go is such a terrible and horrifying aspect for you parasites to even consider that it’s better to just bomb us all to death, huh?’ Acid and rage is seeping easily back into his voice.

 

“They wanted to fight, even when we had offered a peaceful way out –– ”

 

‘Please,’ he can practically feel him rolling his eyes, ‘I think it’s safe to say that your kind’s definition of “peaceful” may be a bit warped there.’

 

“Rin, I think this is hardly the time to be arguing over ethics in our highly different cultures.” When he hears Rin grumbles, he tries to take his chance to change the subject. “So how do you propose we get to Hamamatsu without trains or any means of transportation?”

 

He draws a line across the glass tablet – a bold red stroke from where the Shinkansen stops at Shinfuji Station to their destination at Hamamatsu – and a number appears above the mark.

 

“The fastest route is along the Tomei Expressway, and that’s still 114.2 kilometers.”

 

‘We have legs, don’t we?’ Rin doesn’t even hesitate when he announces the most obvious option.

 

“Y-you mean we’re going to _walk_ all the way there?” There may have been a hint of panic in his voice, but Rin has decided to either ignore it or not address it.

 

‘If we’re lucky, we might be able to hitchhike the rest of the way there.’

 

“That area’s like a ghost town now; you must know that,” the alien sighs and takes a seat on the chair before rolling himself back towards the tablet.

 

A moment of silence later, ‘But you’ll still go, right?’ From the tentative tenor, Rin sounds like he’s afraid that the alien who has total control of his body will withdraw from his initial plan; if he does, there is nothing Rin can do about it. Not really.

 

“ _We_ will go,” he mutters, catching the lower lip with his teeth. With flowing speed, he opens up different tabs on the glass screen and begins to do some brief research on their journey up ahead, his head already beginning to calmly organize a list of things they’ll need to survive in an area that has been torn down by toxic bombs two years ago and deserted for even longer.

 

‘You’re actually not that bad, parasite,’ Rin allows once it seems like the alien is done collecting data and printing out the necessary maps, which he systematizes meticulously into a booklet compact enough to fit into a backpack.

 

“Distance,” he says quietly, exiting all the programs he’s opened on the tablet.

 

“Yeah, I know we’re going to travel a long distance, so let’s –– ”

 

“No, I mean –– my name, in Earth tongue. My name is difficult to pronounce, but the closest meaning to it is ‘Distance’,” he explains. “I don’t like being called ‘parasite’.” Even if that’s exactly what he is – what they all are. Parasitic creatures sucking the life out of their hosts, leaving their spirits unattached and finally drawn into a void. He tries to shut that part of his brain up, and only succeeds mildly, mostly distracted by Rin’s thoughtful hum.

 

‘Alright, fine,’ Rin relents. ‘“Haruka” it is then.’

 

“Haruka?” He tries out the syllables, letting them roll off his tongue and expel through his throat. It sounds right; it sounds… human, a name that’s kinder and less strange in this world.

 

“It means ‘distance’ in Japanese,” Rin explains offhandedly. “Well, I mean, it can also mean ‘spring’ and ‘fragrance’ and ‘flower’, depending on the kanji characters…” he babbles on.

 

“I like it – the name,” he – _Haruka_ – clears his throat, and a timid smile is reflected on the glass pane of the window when he glances outside again. The rain has stopped some time while he was busy researching; the sky has lightened up, though there’s still a light layer of haze blanketing the high-rise buildings that have been reconstructed into sleek glass and metal geometric designs since the Souls’ arrival on Earth.

 

Everything has changed for the human race; Haruka can feel a transformation stirring deep inside this body that isn’t really his, and he says, with the most sincere tone he can, “Thank you, Rin.”

 

-

 

The camping gear he’s been carrying for the last two days is growing heavier by the minute, and each step is taking more and more effort for Haruka, who has only been taking public transit around the city for the past three months since his transition into his host body. He can feel the strain on his shoulders, something in the backpack – possibly the metal edge of the cooking stove – digging into his muscles uncomfortably each time the bag knocks against his back; his legs are like rubber, and he’s sure that the sting on the soles of his feet are blisters that have been harbouring from all the walking they’ve been doing for the last forty-eight hours.

 

‘How much further?’

 

Rin has been trying to place familiar landmarks to orient themselves. Their group has ventured out this far before, even further north of Shin-Tomei Expressway, but none of the buildings or street signs looks even remotely recognizable right now; or perhaps, their minds are so numbed by the limited line of sight caused by the dense, blue-grey smog that everything appears to be distorted in their vision.

 

Having to wear the bulky hazmat suit and the heavy and admittedly unstylish respiratory gas mask is necessary in this hostile environment filled with high concentrations of nothing but ethylene oxide and methyl bromide, where being exposed to and breathing in for more than several hours can have fatal consequences, but it’s certainly not helping with walking long distances, especially when Haruka is still unaccustomed to extended length of strenuous exercises in his human body.

 

It’s lucky that Haruka has considered the possibility they might not have any signals out here, rendering the small tablet he’s brought with him useless the moment they step into the terrain west of the Fuji River that’s been destroyed beyond recognition, the border along the river that runs north-south having erected in the form of an energy barrier that efficiently stops the toxic gasses from infiltrating into neighbouring areas.

 

“I’m more concerned about our current location,” Haruka looks around the desolated scene that surrounds them, crumbled and fallen buildings and the ripped up concrete of the pavement under their exhausted feet unable to give them any clues of their whereabouts. “Any ideas?”

 

He begins to lower his backpack and pulls out the map that he has put in one of the outside pockets for convenience.

 

‘Didn’t we just come across some sort of railway awhile back?’ Rin reminds him, and their brain shared a cloudy image of a rusted train track, some portions of which have been twisted into disuse while others have been entirely torn off the ground. ‘The only existing railway in the Shizuoka Prefecture is the Enshu Railway Line.’

 

His finger clumsily traces along the highway they’ve been following since they got off the train, and stops at the intersection of Tomei Expressway and the train line that Rin has mentioned.

 

“We haven’t passed by any bodies of water yet, so it’s safe to assume we still have some way to go before we should head north.”

 

‘What does that sign say?’ As Haruka looks up from the map to survey their surroundings again, Rin points out to a blue sign half submerged in poisonous fog a few meters ahead of them.

 

Swinging his bag over his shoulders, Haruka makes his way towards the signpost, the surface of which is scratched so severely that the words can barely be read, his feet dragging a little and leaving traces of dust lines behind him.

 

“Exit to National Route 152 in ten kilometers,” Haruka murmurs, and he turns to the direction they have been walking in, everything in their line of vision immersed in thick layers of smog. They just have to place their trust on their compass, maps, and Rin’s instincts.

 

Haruka approximates the time to be late morning, though the sun and its heat can hardly permeate through the thick blanket of fog. If they hurry, it’s possible to make it to the university campus they are aiming for before the day’s end.

 

The prospect and burning hope of being able to reunite with his friends again is clearly fueling Rin and replenishing his sense of purpose, when just a few minutes ago he has seemed so downcast that Haruka almost considered suggesting him to return to Tokyo and find another way.

 

He has a hunch, however, that no matter how desperate and bleak the situation is, Rin – being the way he is – will never consider backing down.

 

“Let’s keep moving then,” Haruka finally says, shifting his backpack into a more comfortable position.

 

Rin gives a noise of approval, and Haruka isn’t sure if it’s on purpose, or if the human’s simply too excited at the anticipation of seeing his friends once more, but his mind is now flooding with images of smiling faces that will no doubt welcome him back with open arms, and cacophony of laughter and teasing that feels like home and safety.

 

Haruka smiles a little, and his legs are moving with renewed vigour at the united hope, the slight prickling of fear that has been poking needles at the back of his mind briefly vanished as a false sense of ease settles in instead.

 

By the time they reach the front gates of the campus, which, similar to everything else they have come across so far in this city, are ripped apart and oxidizing with patches of brown tarnish, the smog has turned a dull orange-red, signifying the setting sun that will disappear altogether in less than half an hour.

 

Rin seems to know where they are going, so just for a short moment, Haruka allows the human to take charge of the body and lead them through a winding maze of half-corroded structures that, despite the rugged appearance with the buildings’ broken windows, graffitied walls, dead, rotted plants still in the gardens and flowerbeds, almost-empty parking lots with a few defeated-looking vehicles unable to escape the impact of the bombing from years ago, and the absolute lack of life forms, Haruka is amazed that so many of the buildings in the campus are still standing.     

 

Haruka finds himself barely stopping to read a sign that’s labeled “Hamamatsu Medicine University Hospital” before he feels his body being practically dragged into the darkened foyer, the only source of light being the flashlight that Rin has pulled from the utility belt secured around his waist.

 

“Rin, wait! Shouldn’t we –– ”

 

‘Shut it, Haruka. I know what I’m doing, okay? We just need to – ah shit!’

 

The flashlight clatters to the ground, the ball of white light turning round and round and shining parts of the lobby in dizzying flashes of blinding glare and utter darkness.

 

Haruka feels a violent jerk that yanks him backward and off his feet, and the next thing he knows, he finds his arms bound behind him tightly, backpack taken off with a shove, his awkwardly huge suit limiting his movements.

 

“Stay. Put,” the attacker punctuates every word muffled by his gas mask with a knock to the back of his thighs, causing him to fall forward on his knees. With little difficulty, another assailant pulls off his mask and for just a very short moment, Haruka is so befuddled by the sudden attack that the first instinct he has is to squeeze his eyes close and hold his breath, afraid that whatever poisonous gas lingering in the air will be the cause of his instant death.

 

Rin has a different priority, apparently.

 

“You fucking bastards –– let go! It’s me, you idiots!” The words burst out of his paper-dry throat without Haruka’s control, and he can sense rather than smell or taste the overly saccharine odor of ethylene oxide crawling into his nose and mouth.

 

“Stop it, Rin! Stop it – you’re killing us!” He tries to reason in his head, but the wall between him and the human’s consciousness is thicker than he has ever experienced, made of metal rather than the brittle, frosted glass, and he has no way to get through, only feeling the growing pressure of the wall pushing against him into a corner.

 

“Quick! The flashlight!”

 

The man not holding him secure forces one of his eyes open with broad fingers that imply the owner has no remorse if he accidentally blinds Haruka, and with tears that’s leaking out more from pain than fright, he opens both of his eyes, and is momentarily blinded by a white light glaring directly into his cornea, making him wince.

 

“What the fuck are you guys doing?” Words are still trickling out of his treacherous mouth, and Haruka has no way of stopping Rin’s idiocy or flames of anger at being ignored by his supposedly companions.

 

“He’s one of ‘em all right,” the man who still has Haruka’s arms locked behind his back concludes when the other man who has checked Haruka’s eyes gives him a solemn nod.

 

“What should we do with him, then?”

 

Haruka blinks rapidly as he lets his eyes get accustomed to the darkness around him again, and when he chances a glimpse at the man who still has the flashlight in his hand, the human gives him an unmistakably disgusted look, as if given the chance, he would not hesitate to dispose of the alien being as soon as possible.

 

“We should notify Makoto-san first,” the other man replies with a sigh.

 

“Hey are you guys even listening –– ”

 

A sharp jolt of pain on the back of his neck, and Haruka is falling headlong into black with Rin fading alongside him.

 

-

 

“Yamazaki-kun!”

 

Yamazaki Sousuke looks up from the book he’s been trying to read at the urgent call of his name just in time to see Tachibana Makoto at the doorway of his room, the brunette looking out-of-breath as he takes in deep gulps of air, his cheeks flushed pink with how fast he must have been running to get him.

 

“What is it, Tachibana?” He gets to his feet, and makes his way towards the man, a small frown etched on his dark brows. “Are you all right?”

 

“Y-you should come see him,” Makoto straightens himself up, and something in his light green eyes flickers. When Sousuke tries to catch his gaze, the brunette only lowers his to avoid the direct scrutiny, and he knows, almost immediately, that Makoto has something more to say but is afraid to tell him.

 

“Him?” Sousuke tries to prompt the man into elaborating, though his heart is already palpitating hard against his chest. The sharp ache is real, and he feels more alive in this moment than he has for the last three months, for he’s been telling himself to give up on the prospect that he’ll ever set eyes on his best friend and lover again.

 

None has ever returned fully “human” once the Seekers have captured them, and he knows it’s unreasonable for him to think Rin as an outlier case. Yet every single day, Sousuke will dream, merely dream, hating himself for not being able to do a thing to save the one person he loves.

 

His parents were long gone, and the only person who has been able to ground him during this insanity of an alien invasion apocalypse is the redhead who has become more than just a childhood friend. “Do you mean ––?”

 

Makoto swallows, a tongue darting out to lick his lower lip nervously, and nods, before signaling for him to follow.  

 

“Does he seem… all right?” Even his low whisper echoes like summer thunder in the tunnel as they follow the direction of the underground railway towards the cells where they keep the rare captured Souls who have somehow wandered out into their region.

 

Makoto chews his lower lip, and replies carefully, “Physically, he’s fine – just been knocked out cold by Uozumi, but he’ll come around soon enough.”

 

“But?” Sousuke knows there’s something more, and when he looks over at the man walking beside him, who’s fiddling with his hands behind his back, the slightly taller man heaves a soft sigh. “Look Tachibana, if it’s that bad, just give it to me now. I can take it.”

 

“I haven’t confirmed for myself yet, but from what Uozumi and Minami have told me, he – ” Even without mentioning his name, they both know who the pronoun is referring to. “ – he seems to have been taken for good.”

 

“The eyes?” Sousuke looks down and finds his hands shaking without him noticing, and he gathers his fingers into fists in an attempt to make them stay still. It’s not working very well.

 

“Yeah.” Makoto turns to stare at the damp walls of the channel, which are brightened up by weak, red glow of emergency lights every few meters.

 

The two men veer to the right when they hit the next intersection, neither of them willing to find words that will only lead them to the inevitable conclusion.

 

A young man with bright golden eyes and a head of hair in a shocking shade of orange and a woman who shares the same hair colour as the man lying unconscious on the cot inside the cell are standing guard by the doorway as Makoto and Sousuke approach them with grave silence.

 

“Gou-chan,” Makoto breaks the silence first, with a soft and gentle tone when he addresses the red-haired woman, who looks up at him blearily, the rims of her eyes red and puffy as if she has just been crying. “You don’t have to do this.”

 

“I-I know,” she sniffs, but brushes away any evidence of tears with the back of her hand. “But he’s my brother – _was_ , anyway.”

 

“It’s time for your break anyhow,” Makoto tells them. “Momo-kun, why don’t you and Gou-chan go to the common room for a rest. Yamazaki-kun and I will take watch until the next shift comes.”

 

Mikoshiba Momotarou nods, for once seeming to understand the gravity of the situation since he’s less cheeky than usual, and tugging a reluctant Gou along, who keeps stealing glances back at the unconscious figure inside the cell and hoping he’ll wake up, they begin to make their way back to where Sousuke and Makoto have just came from, their footsteps gradually fading away.

 

“May I?” Sousuke nods towards the interior of the chamber, not really at the red-haired man inside, but just in the vague direction. He can’t make himself look – _really_ look – because the moment this man wakes up, Sousuke will know for certain that his best friend is truly gone.

 

No more false hope. No more fanciful dreams of reunion. No more words of comfort or a wordless embrace that conveys too much and too little all at once. Matsuoka Rin will no longer exist, even in Sousuke’s imagination.

 

That reality is too much and too close for comfort, a shadow that’s just out of reach but waiting to pounce upon him the moment he lets himself fall into its jaws.

 

“Of course.” Makoto takes out a key ring tinkling with bronze and silver, and unlocks the door, inching it open for Sousuke to dodge in. After he locks up, Makoto decides it’s best to let Sousuke deal with this in his own way, and walks to the intersection to stand guard there, at a distance that’s far enough to give Sousuke and Rin their needed privacy but close enough to provide help should the condition escalates out of control.

 

Sousuke takes a seat on the rickety chair by the head of the bed, his eyes still refusing to register the man lying so close to him that if he reaches forward, he can touch his sleeping face, and in his mind, he can picture it all too perfectly: stray locks of red hair covering his cheeks, which Sousuke runs a gentle hand through and comb them behind his ear, and his eyes will blink open, still bleary with sleep, but his scarlet irises will brighten in recognition as his gaze gradually focuses on Sousuke’s face.

 

“Hnn…” The figure on the cot mumbles incoherently, thin brows bunching up into a deep frown as he lets out a slow whine, a hand reaching for the back of his neck where the spot just below his hairline is bruised, and he hisses when his fingers lightly brush across it. “Ah, damn…”

 

“R-Rin?”

 

The redhead freezes at the name.

 

Even without opening his eyes, even with Rin still lying dormant in his head, his presence pulsating with every beat of his heart, Haruka recognizes this voice from all the memories he has skimmed through, and from some of the more vivid ones that Rin has fed him over the past few days. ‘Rin, do you hear that? He’s calling for you; he hasn’t forgotten about you.’

 

Silence. Just a steady pattern of heartbeats that dissolves the wall between them.

 

“Yamazaki… Sousuke?” The syllables cut through his throat like bits of glass, but the name tastes sweet and warm on his tongue, like something he’d call over and over again, and he’d never be sick of it. ‘Strange,’ he thinks, but not entirely surprised.

 

“Open your eyes,” he sounds firmer with the command, though the tremble underneath it is palpable.

 

Expecting what’s about to follow, Haruka obediently opens his eyes, first taking in the morbid ceiling covered in questionable brown stains and moss, and then his eyes find Sousuke’s.

 

Haruka knows what the other man sees, as he has seen his own reflection in the mirror every morning for the past three months; he understands that momentary belief that flickers across the dark-haired man’s teal depths and the dread and dark hatred that drowns out that one glimmer of hope when he realizes and recognizes the truth of the matter.

 

What Sousuke has dreamed about day and night during the months when Rin has been captured is not that different from the sight before him, but it is precisely that slight distinction that causes his heart to drop and the rage to slowly boil: instead of the beautiful claret irises that Sousuke has grown to love, cold silver rings replace the warmth – the absolute emblem of a cold, silver form of a Soul residing in the body of Matsuoka Rin.

 

“Fuck…” Sousuke lowers his head, unable to meet the stranger’s eyes, hands digging into his disarrayed hair and he’s pulling on the strands with pent-up frustration as hot tears burn in his eyes and roll down his cheeks. “Fuckfuckfuckfuck…” The heat in his chest is unbearable, and he can no longer tell whether the incalescence is originating from the wrath towards the filthy parasite that now lives in his lover’s body, or the terror that he will never be able to look into Rin’s eyes and tell him over and over again, “I love you.”  

 

“Yamazaki Sousuke,” Haruka tries to reach out to him, but the moment his fingers touch his shaking shoulder, Sousuke pushes him away and shoves him against the wall by pinning his upper arms; he’s straddling the slimmer man on the small cot with his thighs caging Haruka’s lower body and reducing him into a shivering mess.

 

He doesn’t try to fight back, knowing that it’s impractical; he doesn’t say his name again, knowing that it’ll only make him angrier; he merely lets Sousuke manhandle him into an upright position, his breathing quicker than normal and his cheeks are flushing at their proximity.

 

If Rin were awake, he’d probably tell him to get a fucking grip and get his priorities straight.

 

“Don’t,” he angles his head so he can speak directly into Haruka’s ear, each expel of breath hot against his skin and dangerously close. “Don’t fucking call my name with his voice.”

 

Sousuke’s face swims back into Haruka’s vision after that threat, the teal of his eyes darkened so that only a ring of blue-green can be seen. His lips are red from being bitten to rawness, and there are still traces of his drying tears on his cheeks. Haruka’s gaze darts towards the other man’s mouth, half-opened and hot breaths blown against his own lips, the sensation unfamiliar but pleasant, and he finds himself leaning closer to the human who probably wants nothing more than to pummel him to death for taking his lover’s life.

 

‘Oh no you don’t!’ The heartbeat is growing into a pounding migraine in Haruka’s head, and in a moment of blindness when Rin attempts to regain control of his body, he has managed to thrust Sousuke off of the bed as he stumbles backwards in shock at the sudden burst of strength from the red-haired man.

 

“Sousuke, you ass! What the hell are you doing?” Rin pants heavily, his chest rising and falling with effort as he struggles to get to his feet. “You were about to kiss Haruka, weren’t you?”

 

“I ­–” Suddenly Sousuke can’t find any words, his mind blanking out and not really taking in a name he’s never heard of, because there’s something familiar in the way the silver-eyed man is glaring at him, just like when Sousuke has teased him too much and he would send him the same glare in the hopes that Sousuke would stop laughing at his expense. “Rin.”

 

There’s no question mark behind his name, because Sousuke knows.

 

Cautiously, Sousuke takes a step forward, and another, and another until he stops right before the redhead. With a trembling hand, Sousuke touches Rin along his jawline, his thumb brushing the delicate cheekbone like so many times before, and his eyes flutter closed, the tide of rage momentarily subsided and swept away by the onslaught of warmth that only Sousuke can provide.

 

“How ––?” Sousuke shakes his head slightly, uncomprehending, yet his hand is brushing away the vivid red locks and tucking them behind Rin’s ear, a habit he has yet to break in the three months of Rin’s absence.

 

“I don’t know,” Rin murmurs, and it feels good to be able to speak out loud, to hear his own words coming out of his own mouth for the first time in three months. He doesn’t have the luxury to enjoy this brief freedom though; he knows that much, at least. “A miracle? Fate? Haruka brings us back, you know, despite being one of their kind.”

 

“Haruka?” Sousuke wrinkles his nose in aversion. “That’s the name of the filthy parasite who took your body?”

 

“Play nice, okay?” Rin chides him lightly, and when Sousuke still looks unconvinced, he continues. “It’s kind of hard to explain our situation, but it seems like we’re able to co-exist in this body for the time being. I don’t think they’re even suspecting a human to be able to stick around in this psyche form after they have planted a Soul inside our bodies, but here I am.”

 

And Sousuke is glad – more than glad – about that. It doesn’t mean that he has to like the parasite though, even if Rin seems to have taken a liking to the creature.   

 

“Is he, uh, is Haruka still in there watching us?” Sousuke asks, eyes darted to the ground.

 

“He’s trying to give us some privacy by putting some sort of wall in between our consciousness,” Rin attempts to explain it in the best way he can, because he can definitely feel an elastic boundary that’s being placed in between himself and Haruka who’s trying to stay quiet and unobtrusive. “Why?”

 

“Just wanted to do this without some creepy alien watching us, that’s all.” With that said, Sousuke dives forward and crashes his mouth against Rin’s in a fervour that threatens to devour them both, fingers dragging into fire-red hair as Rin bites his lower lip, so excited he almost forgets himself and draws blood, but Sousuke doesn’t mind, takes pleasure in the sting and seizes the chance to slip his tongue into Rin to relearn the sighs and soft moans. All he wants is to be able to kiss him and hold him tight and hear that breathy little laugh whenever Sousuke licks against the sensitive spot just underneath his ear.

 

Rin feels solid within his embrace, and Sousuke silently thanks whatever deities are still watching over the remaining human race for bringing Rin back into his life – a life that would have been miserable and dark without the spark and light that Rin represents, a life that would have slowly but surely decayed into eventual death.

 

“Oh wow, okay, okay, stop please!”

 

Sousuke feels insistent hands pushing him away, and he steps back dazedly, his mind still hazy from the previous kisses, but when he observes the redhead’s defensive stance and mouth downturned into a small frown, Sousuke’s eyes harden at the awareness that this Haruka has regained control of Rin’s body once more.

 

“Give Rin his body back,” Sousuke demands, his tone is quiet but the blue of his eyes is a raging storm.

 

“It’s not that easy,” Haruka replies calmly, brushing the wetness on his mouth with the heel of his hand, though the tingling on his lips is not unpleasant.

 

“It’s as easy as pulling you out of his body.”

 

“You’re not listening: it’s not that easy,” Haruka’s voice is rising, silver irises glimmering coldly. “Planting and removing a Soul from a host’s body is a complicated surgery that only trained Healers of our kind can perform. One slip and both the host’s and the Soul’s lives will be endangered. Do you want to get Rin killed?”

 

“Of course not!”

 

“Yamazaki-kun!” Makoto chooses this moment to appear by the cell door, though he would never mention that he’s been listening on their conversation since he heard Sousuke’s shouted cussing earlier. “Rin…?”

 

“It’s Haruka,” he corrects politely, turning to the stranger standing behind Sousuke. The human has messy brown locks that fall delicately into light green eyes, and a mouth that curls easily into a friendly smile. “And you are?”

 

“Ah, nice to meet you, Haruka!” He seems flustered under his silver, unwavering gaze; Haruka vaguely wonders why that is, and if Rin has the same effect on the man. He’d have to remember to ask him when they have a moment to themselves later.  “My name’s Tachibana Makoto; I’m one of the leaders here in this little community. Welcome to our home!”

 

“Home?” Haruka raises a questioning brow, aiming an inquisitive glance at Sousuke, who merely sighs in defeat.

 

“I suppose there’s no other way to handle this,” Sousuke relents. “What do you think, Tachibana?”

 

“The others might be a bit antsy at first, especially the older citizens,” Makoto admits, “but they’ll get used to you eventually, Haruka. I’m sure of it!”

 

“I see.”

 

“I’m not done talking with you yet, parasite,” Sousuke mutters by his ear, a hand grabbing on to his arm as Haruka attempts to walk by him.

 

“I’m sure there’ll be a time and place for further discussion.” With that, Haruka wrenches his arm out of Sousuke’s grasp and brushes past the taller man before following Makoto out of the cell door, the latter starting to cheerfully ask Haruka about the trip he has taken to get here. 

 

When questions and answers have dwindled away into a strange, stagnant silence that is surprisingly comfortable between the three men, Rin snickers in his head with a teasing comment, ‘So, have eyes for our lovely Makoto, huh? Don’t think I didn’t notice the way you were staring at him earlier. You can’t fool me; we share a body after all.’

 

“Perhaps you should worry more about your own situation, Rin,” Haruka replies bitingly. “It looks like your boyfriend wants to rip me out and leave me to die; in fact, I think there’s nothing that will make him happier than to see me shrivel up in pain, which will happen if my actual Soul form is exposed to air, if I haven’t mentioned that already.”

 

‘You’re awfully chatty, aren’t you?’ Rin laughs, but answering to Haruka’s concern, he assures, ‘And don’t worry about Sousuke; most of the time, he just talks big. Plus, you already mentioned that performing the surgery carelessly will lead to our conjoined deaths, so I doubt Sousuke would do anything that would risk our lives.’

 

“Well, he cares for _your_ life, that’s for certain.”

 

‘Don’t forget, we’re sharing this body now, and the only way to do this is to ensure both of us survive. What is mine is yours; and vice versa.’

 

“Except for…”

 

‘Except for Sousuke, obviously. He’s off-limits, no matter how much of a nice and generous guy I am.’

 

“I can feel your ego bloating,” Haruka grins.

 

‘Oh shut up,’ Rin chuckles. ‘Ah, you should probably get ready to meet my crazy friends. I think Makoto is about to introduce you to the gang now.’

 

When Haruka blinks once more, he notices that they have already emerged out of the dark pathways of the underground and have arrived at a dining hall of some sort. Every pair of eyes in the room is on him, and Haruka shakes under their unabashed stares. Conversations simmer into hushed whispers, and when even the slightest murmurs have dissipated, Makoto places a calming hand on his shoulder and begins to speak.  

**Author's Note:**

> This is actually not the complete arc but I didn’t have enough time and I think my brain has ran out of juice by writing 3 AUs in a week, so I’m just going to leave it at that. Thanks for reading it all the way through and I honestly have a blast reading so many great SourRin fics and looking at pretty art this past week. Thanks for reading!
> 
> If you want to check out my other entries for SouRin Week:  
> \- Day 1: Mythical Creatures AU (dragon!Sousuke and human sacrifice!Rin)  
> \- Day 4: Dark AU (android!Sousuke and SAR officer!Rin + apocalypse)


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